English Meaning & Definitions
Easily annoyed, irritable, or impatient; characterized by petulance and short temper.
- “The usually polite manager became testy after dealing with difficult customers all morning.”
- “She gave a testy reply when asked about the delay in the project.”
English Synonyms & Near Equivalents
English Antonyms & Opposites
Comprehensive Thesaurus Breakdown
Compare formal, informal, literary synonyms and register nuances for “testy”.
Derived from the Middle English word 'testif' (headstrong, arrogant), which came from Old French 'tasti' or from 'teste' (meaning 'head', derived from Latin 'testa' meaning 'shell' or 'brick'). The semantic shift moved from having a big or hard head to being easily provoked or irritable.
Think of someone who is always taking a 'test' and getting stressed and irritable as a result.
Frequently Asked Questions About “testy”
1. What is the meaning of “testy” in English?
In English, testy (adjective) is defined as: “Easily annoyed, irritable, or impatient; characterized by petulance and short temper.”.
2. How do you use “testy” in a sentence?
“The usually polite manager became testy after dealing with difficult customers all morning.”
3. What are English synonyms of “testy”?
4. What is the etymology and word origin of “testy”?
Derived from the Middle English word 'testif' (headstrong, arrogant), which came from Old French 'tasti' or from 'teste' (meaning 'head', derived from Latin 'testa' meaning 'shell' or 'brick'). The semantic shift moved from having a big or hard head to being easily provoked or irritable.
🇬🇧More English Words to English
View all English words →The base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.
A specific duration of time equal to one hour and forty-six minutes and twelve seconds.
The cardinal number equal to one thousand million (1,000,000,000), expressed in scientific notation as 10^9.
A specific duration of time equivalent to one hour and forty-six minutes.